"In the world of security clearances for access to classified information, the term 'reciprocity' is used to indicate that one executive branch agency should ordinarily recognize and accept a security clearance that has been granted by another executive branch agency."

"Scores of family planning clinics in at least 12 states have received letters containing anthrax threats, according to officials of feminist and abortion-rights organizations.

Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, said more than 200 clinics and advocacy organizations received letters Thursday delivered in Federal Express envelopes. Envelopes that were opened...

"Sometimes it isn't necessary to quote facts and figures about government debt, unemployment and the trade deficit in order to convey how badly America is decaying. The truth is that millions of Americans can watch America rotting right in front of their eyes by stepping out on their front porches. Record numbers of homes have been foreclosed on and in some of the most run down cities as...

"Natural disasters across the globe have made 2011 the costliest on record in terms of property damage, and that's just six months in, according to a report released Tuesday by a leading insurer that tracks disasters.

Moreover, that record builds on a trend of recent costly years — which means more expensive insurance for consumers over the long haul.

"In 2010, about 92 percent of those cases involved criminals trying to steal money over the internet, but this year everything changed.

The first signs emerged in December 2010, when activists with the online collective Anonymous called for digital sit-ins — known as distributed denial of service attacks — on the websites of companies that had refused to process payments for Wikileaks....

"The United States is undertaking the largest transformation of air traffic control ever attempted. Known as the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, it is a multi-billion-dollar technology modernization effort that will make air travel safer, more flexible and more efficient. As the system gets better, its capacity will grow and the demand for different types of air...

"The plot also called for hijacking and blowing up 12 airliners in Southeast Asia, but al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden scrapped that part of the plan because it was too difficult to coordinate operations on two continents.

Bin Laden scaled back the plot in the United States to the four planes that were eventually used in the attack."

"Experts say that concentrated cyber-attacks have the ability to cripple a nation's ability to defend itself and destroy its economy and national wealth. Here is a list of some large recent cyber attacks."

"A federal judge in Michigan has declined to dismiss an ex-Marine's lawsuit that insurance giant AIG is using tax dollars to promote Islamic Sharia law and charities that may be funneling money to terrorist organizations. Just when you thought the government's massive bailout of AIG couldn't get more complicated or controversial. The facts of the case 'raise a...

"CBS News correspondent Richard Schlesinger reports the American Society of Civil Engineers issues a report card every 4 years on the state of America's infrastructure. The last one in 2009 was not good at all. The overall grade was a 'D.'"

"While the Beltway’s budget debate hits a bump in the road, Main Street is looking more cracked, chipped and decrepit than ever. America’s 4 million miles of open roads and highways— which would wrap more than 160 times the around the world -- is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers' 2009 infrastructure study gave America’s roads a 'D-' grade.

"Free markets depend on truth telling. Prices must reflect the valuations of consumers; interest rates must be reliable guides to entrepreneurs allocating capital across time; and a firm's accounts must reflect the true value of the business. Rather than truth telling, we are becoming an economy of liars. The cause is straightforward: crony capitalism."

"In Q2 2009, total debt outstanding in the United States — financial plus nonfinancial debt — amounted to 373.4% of GDP. At the start of 1952, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at only 130%. In fact, in the last decades the rise in total debt has increasingly outpaced nominal income — a development which gained momentum after the erosion of the last vestiges of the...

"Hacktivists are continuing their mission to take on politicians causing the collapse of constitutional rights in America, with operatives from the online collective Anonymous keeping up a campaign against the signers of controversial legislation."

"New documentary 'We Are Legion' puts an actual human face on Anonymous, the hacktivist group whose members usually are seen wearing Guy Fawkes masks — if they are seen at all.

Considering Anonymous’ retaliatory acts against websites run by the Department of Justice and the entertainment industry just last week in response to the government takedown of file-sharing site Megaupload, 'We...

"Just minutes after the U.S. Department of Justice repossessed the domains of Megaupload, Megavideo, Megaporn and a collection of other popular filesharing sites, the hacker collective Anonymous got to work on a few takedowns of its own."

"Haraldur Sigurdsson is the Indiana Jones of natural disasters, and what he’s telling me scares me to death.

Sigurdsson, an emeritus professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, has discovered a lost Indonesian village buried by the 1815 Tambora volcanic eruption, studied evidence of huge eruptions in polar ice, in jungles, and in the deep sea using submarines,...

"The old Echo Theater on the courthouse square in Laurens, S.C., is now dubbed the World Famous Redneck Shoppe. It's crammed with racist memorabilia, from cheap Confederate flag flip-flops and bikinis, to T-shirts that announce, 'Ain't Racist, Just Never Met a Nigger I Liked.' The shop's operator, John Howard, boasts that he's been a 'member of the Ku Klux Klan for 40-some years.'

"Today, without much fanfare, US debt to GDP hit 101% with the latest issuance of $32 billion in 2 Year Bonds. If the moment when this ratio went from double to triple digits is still fresh in readers minds, is because it is: total debt hit and surpassed the most recently revised Q4 GDP on January 30, or just three weeks ago. Said otherwise, it has taken the US 21 days to add a full percentage...

In this piece, Jennifer Roback Morse extends the idea of the welfare state to areas such as social security. Morse contends that the rise of social security has caused parents to neglect the raising of their children, which in turn causes their children to neglect them in their old age. This pattern results in the breakdown of the family by furthering reliance on...

The Obama administration is facing cross-party calls for an independent investigation into a spate of recent intelligence leaks about its secret war against al-Qaeda and efforts to disable Iran's nuclear programme using computer viruses.

Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation’s greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.

"Many window-making companies struggle because of the recession's effect on home building. But one little window company, Serious Materials, is 'booming,' says Fortune. 'On a roll,' according to Inc. magazine, which put Serious' CEO on its cover, with a story titled: 'How to Build a Great Company'.

The Minnesota Freedom Foundation tells me that this same little window company also gets...

"The biggest solar storm in five years is battering our planet right now, and may cause disruptions to satellites, power grids and communications networks over the next 24 hours, space weather experts say.

Two strong solar flares erupted from the surface of the sun late Tuesday (March 6), blasting a wave of plasma and charged particles toward Earth. After speeding through space at 4...

"Big banks are bad for free markets. Far from being engines of free enterprise, they are conducive to what might be called 'crony capitalism,' 'corporatism,' or, in Jonah Goldberg’s provocative phrase, 'liberal fascism.' There is a free-market case for breaking up large financial institutions: that our big banks are the product, not of economics, but of politics.

"Very high rates of family breakdown in the United States are subtracting from what very large numbers of students are learning in school—besides holding them back in many other ways.

This in turn is damaging the country economically, by making us less hospitable to innovation while also leaving millions of Americans less competitive in an increasingly demanding worldwide marketplace....

"When it comes to infrastructure, President Obama faces a tricky balancing act. On one side he needs to invest in the kind of infrastructure that the nation needs to remain competitive and put us on the path to a low-carbon future. On the other he has to operate in a constrained fiscal environment with programs that are in fundamental need of reform.

"The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), headquartered in Washington, is perhaps the best-known and most controversial Muslim organization in North America. CAIR presents itself as an advocate for Muslims' civil rights and the spokesman for American Muslims. 'We are similar to a Muslim NAACP,' says its communications director, Ibrahim Hooper. ... Its official mission—'to enhance...

"Four men in California have been arrested for 'plotting' to join the Taliban and kill Americans overseas, but like many of the conspiracies foiled by federal officials, these terrorists were far from completing any missions."

This article discusses the possibility of the resurrection of the ancient muslim Caliphate, whose aim would be to bring the world under Islamic dominion. Raymond Ibrahim states clearly that if the West desires to avoid this possibility it must act now, while it has the upper hand and before it is too late to act. While he says this is the only option, he also realizes the West has no way to...

"Canadian Islamists who have been trying to bring in Sharia into Canada, so far without success, have now chosen another route - Islamic banking.

According to Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, 'In 2003, we saw Islamists trying to sneak Sharia into Canada through the backdoor of Family Law and under the cover of Multiculturalism. Now, they seem to be taking a...

"The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, sends along this chart, showing that 'America’s Per Capita Government Debt Worse Than Greece,' as well as Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain."

"High profile bankruptcies, plunging sales, and canceled acquisitions are raising questions of whether alternative energy can fulfill its promise as the next great growth industry for Massachusetts and the nation.

Struggling with dwindling subsidies, a weak economy, and fierce competition from China, the US alternative energy industry appears to be entering a period of consolidation...

"The Federal Aviation Administration is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar upgrade of the nation's air traffic control system. The new system is called the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. It will be highly automated. It will rely on GPS instead of radar to locate planes, and it is designed to allow air traffic controllers and pilots to pack more planes, helicopters...

"Insider trading is illegal — except for members of Congress. A Wall Street executive who buys or sells stock based on insider information would face a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and quite possibly a federal prosecutor. But senators and congressmen are free to legally trade stock based on nonpublic information they have obtained through their official positions as elected...

It was the greedy free market, supposedly, that created both the housing bubble and the housing bust and led, inevitably, to the 'great recession.' Capitalism, according to most liberal pundits (and even Alan Greenspan in a bad mood), is an inherently risky and unstable system that requires government regulation to correct its flaws...

"Would a farmer who put out a trough of slop be surprised if it attracted a bunch of pigs? Then why are activists who promote enlarging the size and scope of government shocked when one program after another is hijacked by corporations that find it easier to seek favors in Washington than customers in the marketplace? And, knowing that such corruption is inevitable, why do mainstream media...

"Of the nation’s 85,000 dams, more than 4,400 are considered susceptible to failure, according to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. But repairing all those dams would cost billions of dollars, and it is far from clear who would provide all the money in a recessionary era."

"As Congress debates how to meet the nation’s long-term transportation needs, decaying roads, bridges, railroads and transit systems are costing the United States $129 billion a year, according to a report issued Wednesday by a professional group whose members are responsible for designing and building such infrastructure.

"While there are national and local emergency plans in place, making the big picture response look satisfactory, experts say it's likely that most Americans themselves are not prepared to handle emergencies.

Indeed, many state and federal government organizations have their own set of challenges. A survey released Monday by the American Medical Association suggested many state health...

U.S. environmental groups have grown from to more than 4,000 tax-exempt, nonprofit organizations in the last decade. As nationally or internationally organized groups, environmentalists can become radical.

Shell Oil Company has announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drilling oversight.

"Why is Islamism a threat to democracy? Because, according to its interpretations, sharia regulates every aspect of an individual’s life; moreover, because it is considered God’s law, no compromises are possible. The holistic nature of Islamist ideology makes it fundamentally incompatible with the self-criticism and exercise of free will necessary for human beings to form truly liberal and...

Writing about the group following a murder in Texas, the Houston Chronicle states, "The Brotherhood is one of the largest of 12 known prison gangs in the state system, a Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson said. Officials keep track of membership but don’t release numbers to discourage gangs from competing with each other."

"Over the weekend, a draft of a cybersecurity executive order was shown to members of the press. Leaked reports of secretive decision making are what the U.S. gets when the President decides to ignore the democratic process and implement rules by executive fiat. The U.S. also gets policies that are often incomplete and poorly thought out.

"Within a few years, that flying object overhead might not be a bird or a plane, but an unmanned aircraft.
Drones, perhaps best known for their combat missions in Afghanistan, are increasingly looking to share room in U.S. skies with passenger planes. And that's prompting safety concerns."

"As the fastest growing global super-power, China commands attention by all the super-powers and especially by the middle powers all over the world. Pundits ask whether Islamic Banking, which China looks upon favorably, will be a new challenge to Wall Street. Islamic banking will not pose a quantitative challenge in terms of nominal assets during our lifetime, but it has the potential to...

"Supplying money, Hayek argued from 1976 until his death in 1992, is best left to private banks competing against each other for deposits. Entrusting government with monopoly control over the single most important good in a market economy -- money -- is a recipe for catastrophe."

Jim Harper examines the H.R. 6975 Bill which passed before Congress and declares his belief that it is completely unnecessary. He writes, "It’s embarassing that a strong, free country like ours would even consider an idea like this," in regards to its requirements that an alien must declare he/she will not attempt to establish Sharia Law in the United States.

"The rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in America has brought with it a wave of largely-unsubstantiated suggestions from conservative media commentators and politicians that America is at risk of falling under the sway of Sharia law. ...

The outcry over Sharia law has been tied in large part to the controversy around the Islamic cultural center two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11...

"A widespread and unusually resilient computer attack that began July 4 knocked out the Web sites of several government agencies, including some that are responsible for fighting cyber crime, The Associated Press has learned.

The Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department Web sites were all down at varying points over the holiday weekend...

In this article, Mr. Anthony illustrates how the surveillance powers granted under the Patriot Act have been used to circumvent traditional warrant procedure--even when the suspect had no real connection to terrorism. He argues that FISA and the Patriot Act run afoul of the Fourth Amendment.﻿

"You’ve heard it from government officials high and low, from your local municipality to the president of the United States: America’s infrastructure needs a reboot.

But while the nation is captivated by smart power grids and improved water mains and larger airports and wider highways and deeper sewers and more efficient waste management — all vital systems to modern living, no doubt...

"Three California men excited at the prospect of training in Afghanistan to become terrorists prepared, authorities say, by simulating combat with paintball rifles, wiping their Facebook profiles of any Islamic references and concocting cover stories."

"The price of gasoline is expected to hit a record high of around NIS 7.99 per liter at midnight on Thursday, on the back of a sharp rise in global oil prices amid tensions over Iran.

Politicians, business leaders and consumer groups all weighed in on the debate Tuesday on how to reduce prices, ahead of the Energy and Water Ministry’s announcement of the maximum price gasoline stations...

Arthur B. Laffer is an American supply-side economist. He served as a member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board between 1981 and 1989. He is best known for the Laffer Curve, a curve illustrating that increases in the rate of taxation do not necessarily increase tax revenue....

"During the American wind industry's annual convention this week, two of the boldest proposals for the future of renewable industry didn’t involve bigger or better turbines. They're instead focusing on the comparatively unsexy issue of America’s creaking electricity grid. The Internet giant Google and an upstart New Mexico-based company called Tres Amigas want to transform the way power gets...

"The defenders of free markets are often viewed as apologists for big business. Regulation of business is seen as necessary to the welfare of the public to prevent exploitation by selfish business people. Such a view would be hard to square with reality, with history both recent and distant.

In reality, business often welcomes regulation and openly lobbies for it. Business often doesn't...

"The 'partnership of government and business' is a new term for an old, old condition. We often fail to realize that the point of much of Big Government is precisely to set up such 'partnerships,' for the benefit of both government and business, or rather, of certain business firms and groups that happen to be in political favor.

With declining literacy numbers on the rise, many are wondering just what colleges are teaching young people. This piece admits that college professors assign far less reading than they should, but those in higher education also point out that the poor quality of...

The politically-connected win. Existing job-holders and companies lose. Home electric bills go up. Power also costs more for companies, making it more expensive to go into business or to stay in business.

"Two weeks before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security penned its controversial report warning against 'right-wing extremists' in the United States, it generated a memo defining dozens of additional groups – animal rights activists, black separatists, tax protesters, even worshippers of the Norse god Odin – as potential 'threats.'

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) announced on Thursday a new partnership with Simon Property Group to bring the 'If You See Something, Say Something' public awareness campaign to more American shopping malls."

"An innocuous-looking memory stick, no longer than a couple of fingernails, came into the hands of a Guardian reporter earlier this year. The device is so small it will hang easily on a keyring. But its contents will send shockwaves through the world's chancelleries and deliver what one official described as 'an epic blow' to US diplomacy.

"Mark Twain famously wrote, 'There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.' Peter Schweizer's new book, 'Throw Them All Out,' reveals this permanent political class in all its arrogant glory. (Full disclosure: Mr. Schweizer is employed by my political action committee as a foreign-policy adviser.)

"There's widespread agreement the national debt is a problem. And since voters have picked up on the issue, you're going to be hearing more about it from Republicans and Democrats in Washington, who last week began the annual circus known as 'the budget process.'"

Commenting on statistics from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy survey, George Leef notes how low literacy standards actually are. According to Leef, the basic literacy skills of high school students are falling and even college fails to help much in...

"Following revelations that Hemingway was an enthusiastic wartime recruit to the KGB, it's a good moment to check your security clearance. You are strongly advised to co-operate with the following questions."

"Given the opportunity to clarify existing law and confirm that American citizens are not subject to indefinite military detention at the order of the president — Congress punted.

After a debate in which key members seriously contemplated empowering the president to 'Gitmo-ize' Americans suspected of terrorist activity, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 leaves the question...

Allan Meltzer is widely considered to be one of the world's foremost experts on the development and applications of monetary policy. He served on the Council of Economic Advisors for both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. Mr. Meltzer is currently working at Carnegie Mellon University's...

"The threat to intellectual property is very real. Even the most motivated, committed and enthusiastic staff can and will make mistakes that may result in significant data loss. By investing in appropriate technology solutions coupled with regular staff training and awareness sessions to mitigate your inside threat, you are taking proactive steps that should see this problem significantly...

"The House and Senate intelligence committees announced plans Wednesday to draft new laws against leaks of classified information, adding to an uproar on Capitol Hill over a series of recent stories that revealed details of terrorism threats and CIA programs.

Citing 'the accelerating pace of such disclosures,' the two committees said in a joint statement that they planned to 'act...

"The Senate failed Thursday to pass legislation to protect the U.S. electrical grid, water supplies and other critical industries from cyberattack and electronic espionage despite dire warnings from top national security officials about the potential for devastating assaults on American computer networks."

"The recent flow of funds data released by the Fed shows that a level of private debt continues to soar. For instance, home mortgages as a percentage of disposable income rose to 97.9% in Q2 from 97% in the quarter before. The non-financial debt-to-nominal-GDP ratio stood at a record 2.1 in Q2 the same figure as in the previous quarter.

"Back in June, the American Civil Liberties Union launched a new Web hub called Spy Files, which promises to be an invaluable resource for those of us who make a point of watching the watchers. Probably the most interesting document available on the site at launch was a thorough state by state survey of law enforcement surveillance of protected political and...

"We have no financial reserve for such an inevitability. California, among the likeliest of locations for the blow, is effectively bankrupt with little capacity for shared sacrifice or any sort of rebuilding effort of the sort that would be required if the luck that has held off the 'Big One' runs out in the next decade.

"The Islamic Jihad Union—also known as al-Djihad al-Islami, Dzhamaat Modzhakhedov, and the Islamic Jihad Group of Uzbekistan, among other names—is an extremist organization that splintered from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in the early 2000s. It adheres to an anti-Western ideology, opposes secular rule in Uzbekistan, and seeks to replace the current regime with a government based on...

"The chairman of the Jewish Defense League and a member of the extremist organization are accused of a bombing scheme aimed at the office of an Arab-American congressman and a prominent Los Angeles mosque."

"'Beltway Earnings Make U.S. Capital Richer Than Silicon Valley.' According to the latest Census figures, Washington, D.C. is now the wealthiest metropolitan area in the United States.

That's good news for local property values, but I can't say it fills me with hometown pride. After all, Silicon Valley's wealth was earned -- just rewards voluntarily given for producing innovations that...

According to Thomas Bertonneau, college professors around the country are finally waking up to the fact that students often avoid assignments which involve specific literacy standards. Bertonneau believes this is because our culture is increasingly drifting...

According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport.

"An Obama administration strategy for building contacts in Muslim communities is taking heat from the left and the right, amid increasing concerns about homegrown Islamic terrorism.

Under the program, which extends one begun under President George W. Bush, U.S. law-enforcement officials meet frequently with Muslim groups to discuss their concerns about discrimination. The hope is that...

"Main Street remains suspicious of government plans to buy distressed mortgage assets. Leading politicians and newspaper editorials are struggling to explain how the financial bailout will help Main Street. They see that the challenge is to get the American people to come around.

In fact, it is the elites who are badly misguided. The reality is that the Paulson plan is nothing more than...

"A federal jury in Massachusetts convicted Tarek Mehanna on four terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities.

Prosecutors said the 24-year-old Mehanna and two friends conspired to go to Yemen so they could receive training at a terrorist camp with the intention of going to Iraq to fight against U.S. soldiers there. Prosecutors said when they couldn't find a camp,...

"Earlier this week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit permission to disrupt more than 500 different strains of malware with the potential for targeting millions of innocent people. Codenamed 'Operation b70,' this legal action and technical disruption proceeded from a Microsoft study which found that cybercriminals infiltrate...

"A customer in Shenzhen, China, took a brand new laptop out of its box and booted it up for the first time. But as the screen lit up, the computer began taking on a life of its own. The machine, triggered by a virus hidden in its hard drive, began searching across the Internet for another computer.

"Green energy investments are coming from every direction. Whether it is the stimulus package or the cap and trade bills proposed in Congress, the government is eager to invest taxpayer dollars in renewable energy technology. As Americans become desensitized to the copious amounts of money the government is spending, clean energy investments are growing from millions to billions. And companies...

"The Pennsylvania State Director of American Atheists, Inc., Mr. Ernest Perce V., was assaulted by a Muslim while participating in a Halloween parade. Along with a Zombie Pope, Ernest was costumed as Zombie Muhammad. The assault was caught on video, the Muslim man admitted to his crime and charges were filed in what should have been an open-and-shut case. That’s not what happened, though....

"Barack Obama has strongly denied the White House is responsible for a 'cascade of leaks' about secret operations that have prompted accusations that American lives have been endangered for political gain.

Obama said he will 'root out' those responsible for revelations in the press about a joint US-Israeli assault on Iran's nuclear programme using a computer virus known as Stuxnet, the...

"Taking a step back from the emotional response of environmental devastation, let’s take a look at offshore drilling more broadly: How much oil do we currently produce from offshore drilling, and how much might we potentially recover? What’s the status of the moratorium banning offshore drilling in various areas? What are the environmental risks? And perhaps most importantly, what is the...

"Hackers who appear to be based in China have conducted a 'coordinated, covert and targeted' campaign of cyber espionage against major Western energy firms, according to a report expected to be issued Thursday by cybersecurity firm McAfee Inc."

While the tragedy’s ultimate causes are unclear, Russian media has been questioning the state of the aging Soviet-made infrastructure. Dams are getting older in the United States, too. The average age of America’s 80,000 dams...

"As 'Occupy Wall Street' continues to grow globally, many wonder what is causing the movement in the first place and what the outcome will be. The naming of the movement, related to Wall Street where it all started, does not do justice to the real issues. Yes, the original protests started with dissatisfaction at lavish bonuses and salaries in the financial sector, when seemingly little...

"America’s financial situation is unsustainable. In 2009 the federal government spent $3.5 trillion but collected only $2.1 trillion in revenue. The result was a $1.4 trillion deficit, up from $458 billion in 2008. That’s 10 percent of gross domestic product, a level unseen since World War II. Worse, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that we’ll be drowning in red ink for the...

"President Obama signs on from France after Congress passes the bill. Opposition to the government powers in the terrorist surveillance law brings together conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats."

This article notes that while temperatures have been rising in recent decades, air pollution levels have been declining, thus suggesting that the impact on air pollution from global warming might not be as catastrophic as some predict.

"The world has entered a new era of catastrophes. Economic losses from hurricanes, earthquakes and resulting tsunamis, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters increased from $528 billion (1981-1990) to more than $1.2 trillion over the period 2001-2010. The 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami in Japan this past spring caused hundreds of billions of dollars of direct and indirect costs. It...

Obama responded to a mounting controversy over two blockbuster stories in the New York Times, both of which divulged highly sensitive details about his national security policies. One story focused on Obama's so-called 'kill list.' Another looked at his...

"Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) has pledged to block a Bush administration proposal being steamrolled through Congress to grant the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve sweeping new powers. Slowing things down would allow Congress to debate the issue fully before approving measures that could put taxpayers on the hook for billions in debt incurred by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government...

"Sauerland, the Saar Land in English, is located in mid West Germany in the South Eastern part of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

On 09/04/2007 the German authorities arrested and uncovered an Islamic terror network that was plotting a series of terror attacks in Germany and in the middle of their last preparation to commit a massive car bombs attack on Ramstein military...

The Aryan Nations, and other white supremacist groups, are cited in the report for hate crimes, fire bombings, threats via mail, as well as robberies and murders. The National Alliance, one of the largest neo-Nazi organizations in the...

Scully tackles the tricky subject of the exclusionary rule--the concept that evidence obtained through an unreasonable search and seizure cannot be used against a defendant. He argues that the exclusionary rule runs counter to the idea of justice. Justice, Matthew tells us, is punishing the guilty and exonerating the innocent.

"When some American pundits call sharia, 'a growing threat to the United States,' Muslim Americans wonder what in the world are they talking about. [S]haria is overwhelmingly concerned with personal religious observance, not with constitutions and laws. All observant Muslims practice sharia. Defining sharia as a threat, therefore, is the same thing as saying that all observant Muslims are a...

"Richard Thompson, TMLC President and Chief Counsel, commented, 'Muslims dominate the political and law enforcement process in Dearborn. It seems that police were more interested in placating the Mayor and Muslims than obeying our Constitution. Sharia law makes it a crime to preach the Gospel to Muslims. This is a classic example of stealth Jihad being waged right here in America. And it...

Volokh, a UCLA law professor, argues that it is acceptable for private contracts to require sharia-based dispute resolution. He states that the United States law has long provided for parties to turn to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration, including on the basis of secular or religious laws that some might consider unfair.

Nezar Hamze describes the misconception many Americans have concerning Islam and Sharia Law. He details reasons for why it is not a threat. He says politicians are only painting Sharia Law in a negative light to use as a campaign strategy for upcoming elections.

Cinnamon Stillwell describes the recent trend towards marginalizing radical Islamists. She mentions the growing trend by leading radical Islamist apologist John Esposito towards calling these radicals, merely "moderates." She concludes by saying, "Britain can serve as a cautionary tale for the West. Scholars who downplay the threats to democratic societies posed by the encroachments of Sharia...

"On October 28, 2009, Luqman Ameen Abdullah, an African American Muslim, was killed in a shootout with agents of the FBI in Detroit. The dead man was one of twelve individuals sought for firearms violations and conspiracy to engage in theft and fraud. But they were also members of a little-known Islamist network dedicated to the establishment, through violence if necessary, of an enclave on U....

In the eyes of Mitch Pearlstein, social welfare programs have done a lot of good, but they are also responsible for tearing down families. Pearlstein continues by declaring that when welfare programs break up the family, they also further the level of crime in our nation. The article infers that states could save tax money on crime by reducing tax spending on...

"SOPA and PIPA may have been put on hold -- thanks to possibly the most contentious uproar seen on Capitol Hill and in the tech world ever -- but other legislation was introduced this week to combat online piracy."

"This Wednesday, there will be a new reference point for the state of infrastructure in the United States—the American Society of Civil Engineers will release a report card, grading America's dams, bridges, roads and schools. The previous ASCE report card, issued in 2005, gave the country a grade of D, and called for $1.6 trillion over five years to fix the country. This year, expect the...

"The Hoover Dam, one of the world's great engineering feats, is marred by roads with traffic so jammed along the Nevada-Arizona border that it tells a different story about the political will to maintain 21st century infrastructure.

The road leading to the dam cannot accommodate the torrent of tourists and spills them into the overwhelmed little town of Boulder City. Nevada lawmakers...

As the title suggests, an alarming amount of the D.C. population struggles with literacy skills. The article notes that "[a]dults are considered functionally illiterate if they have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out...

"The New York Times revealed today in a major news article that the well-known Stuxnet malware attack on the Iranian nuclear program was, in fact, an American operation. Most experts had felt that was the most logical conclusion, but it had never been confirmed. The Times report is based on interviews with anonymous sources 'because the effort remains highly classified, and parts of it...

"Fears of an April Fools' Day attack by the so-called 'Conficker' worm – fears that were confirmed this week when 700 computers at the University of Utah were attacked – raised the profile of the potential for cyber-criminals to enter networks and siphon off private information."

"The U.S. Justice Department on Monday blocked Texas from enforcing a law that requires voters to show state-issued photo identification at the polls, saying it would disproportionately affect Hispanics."

"No one can predict what bridge, levee or water main will fail next. But some problems are widely known, and work is long overdue. As PM's new special report makes starkly clear, we need to begin rebuilding the nation's infrastructure somewhere. Here are 10 great places to start."

"The Obama administration’s game plan for passing their financial regulatory reform plan is clear: ignore the details of their bill, demonize Wall Street, and cast conservatives as the pawns of big bankers. But as Politico reports today, there’s a complication in their battle plan: 'The Democratic Party is closer to corporate...

Ebeling, the former president of Foundation for Economic Education, compares the current economic crisis to the Great Depression. He examines the monetary policies leading up to both crises, the thinking of the monetarists and Keynesians, as well as the results of those policies.

"The landscape of America, at last count, is dotted with 79,272 large dams. Most of them safely deliver bountiful benefits - trillions of gallons of water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use, plus flood control, recreation, hydroelectric power, and navigation.

That's the good news.

Here, in my opinion, is the bad news: Disaster lurks in thousands of those dams.

When a luxury housing development in Washington was torched, it seemed an open and shut case. The Earth Liberation Front was to blame. But was it? Does it even exist? And why is the Bush government intent on casting 'eco-terrorists' as public enemy number one?

"With the recent rate hike, the mainstream press obediently parrots the macroeconomic analysis offered by our friendly central planners at the Federal Reserve. The average citizen knows that he or she is not nearly smart enough to understand the complex interrelationships of various price indices, yield curves, consumer confidence, and so forth—that’s Greenspan’s...

"If you are not vitally concerned about the possibility of radical Muslims infiltrating the U.S. government and establishing a Taliban-style theocracy, then you are not a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination. In addition to talking about tax policy and Afghanistan, Republican candidates have also felt the need to speak out against the menace of 'sharia.'" Amy Sullivan goes on to say...

"A software engineer in my Facebook community wrote recently about his outrage that when he visited Disneyland, and went on a ride, the theme park offered him the photo of himself and his girlfriend to buy – with his credit card information already linked to it. He noted that he had never entered his name or information into anything at the theme park, or indicated that he wanted a photo, or...

"The American electric grid is an engineering marvel, arguably the single largest and most complex machine in the world. It's also 40 years old and so rickety that power interruptions and blackouts cost the economy some $150 billion a year. The idea of building a connected 'smart' grid that can route power intelligently is beyond daunting, no matter how much stimulus money gets thrown at it....

"A group calling itself Lulz Security embarked on a nihilistic hacking spree against high-profile corporations and government agencies. Yesterday morning, it was boasting of its latest coup – bringing down the websites of the Brazilian government and the president – an action marked with a Twitter message beginning 'TANGO DOWN.'"

"Milton Friedman once said that there is 'nothing so permanent as a temporary government program.' I would add to this: there is nothing so permanent as a war on terror. Ask the British or the Israelis or any other government which has decided to wage a similar war.

The 2001 signing of the PATRIOT Act marked the beginning of a 'temporary' and unofficial state of emergency for the...

This article describes illiteracy as a key component many unsuspecting doctors overlook when dealing with medical problems. According to Dr. Marcus, illiteracy problems cause so much shame and embarrassment that patients avoid telling their doctors and often experience...

"I've just gotten around to reading Orin Kerr's fine paper 'Applying the Fourth Amendment to the Internet: A General Approach.' Like most everything he writes on the topic of technology and privacy, it is thoughtful and worth reading. Here, from the abstract, are the main conclusions:

"The Weathermen formed as a radical offshoot of the 1960s student activist group Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). A manifesto, which circulated around a June 1969 SDS convention, took its title from Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues.' 'You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,' it read, and thus became known as the Weatherman statement. While SDS promoted...

In this piece, James Payne extends the negative effects of the welfare state to government's role in the realm of adoption. According to Payne, government management of the adoption system not only inhibits loving families from adopting children, it also encourages unloving families to adopt through the offer of welfare subsidies. Payne believes that offering...

In this piece, Vedran Vuk subtly asks readers to consider what non-wealthy people did before the advent of welfare. According to Vuk, families stuck together and worked hard to ensure the well-being of their loved ones. Vuk believes that the arrival of the welfare state changed all of this and served to destroy families and their sense of duty, honor, and character...

"An American citizen from an upscale suburb here was convicted on Tuesday of conspiring to support Al Qaeda and of other terrorism charges.

Federal prosecutors told the jury that Tarek Mehanna, 29, of Sudbury, traveled to Yemen in 2004 to train as a terrorist with the goal of attacking American soldiers in Iraq. Mr. Mehanna, a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and...

"USCYBERCOM is responsible for planning, coordinating, integrating, synchronizing, and directing activities to operate and defend the Department of Defense information networks and when directed, conducts full-spectrum military cyberspace operations (in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations) in order to ensure U.S. and allied freedom of action in cyberspace, while denying the...

"The United States is still 'operating the most advanced economy in the world with 1960s and 70s [electrical] technology,' said Amin. Failing to modernize the grid, he said, will threaten the U.S. position as an economic super power.

Millions remember the historic August 2003 blackout, when overgrown trees on powerlines triggered an outage that cascaded across an overloaded regional...

"One of the more extreme government abuses of the post-9/11 era targets U.S. citizens re-entering their own country, and it has received far too little attention. With no oversight or legal framework whatsoever, the Department of Homeland Security routinely singles out individuals who are suspected of no crimes, detains them and questions them at the airport, often for hours, when they return...

"China almost certainly would mount a cyberattack on the U.S. in the event of a conflict, and the U.S. has no clear policy to determine how to respond appropriately, a congressional advisory panel is set to warn on Thursday."

"U.S. intelligence spending in the past year fell to $75.4 billion, the second straight year of decline since such budgets reached their highest level in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to figures released today."

"The U.S. is pursuing a wide-ranging, high-tech campaign against Iran's nuclear program that includes the cybersabotage project known as Stuxnet, which was developed by the Central Intelligence Agency in conjunction with Idaho National Laboratory, the Israeli government, and other U.S. agencies, according to people familiar with the efforts.

"In the past year, a group of conservative pundits and analysts have identified Sharia, or Islamic religious law, as a growing threat to the United States. These pundits and analysts argue that the steady adoption of Sharia’s tenets is a strategy extremists are using to transform the United States into an Islamic state."

"Laws requiring voters to show identification at the polls have been around since 1970, but they are becoming more numerous and stringent. Once a voter registration card or utility bill sufficed. Now a growing number of laws require voters to show picture IDs."

"We now have an extraordinary situation that reveals the impunity with which political elites commit the most egregious crimes, as well as the special privileges to which they explicitly believe they — and they alone — are entitled. That a large bipartisan cast of Washington officials got caught being paid substantial sums of money by an Iranian dissident group that is legally designated by...

"Industrial espionage is an attempt to gain access to information about a company’s plans, products, clients or trade secrets. In most cases, such conduct, especially when it involves accessing trade secrets is illegal. Sometimes rival companies will search through public records in order to make guesses about a company’s actions. However, when the search goes from the public to the private,...

"When complicated issues like the debt suddenly become national news controversies, sometimes the tendency is to emphasize the drama of the story rather than explain the basics of the issue. What is the debt? Why is it growing? Should we be terribly concerned about it? And how would we fix it if we had to? Martin Baily answers those questions in the interview...

President Obama and the Banking Committee Chairman, Chris Dodd, introduced 27 new regulations for the banking industry. The new regulations are based on the notion that the financial meltdown of 2008 was due to de-regulation of the banking industry.

"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded defense contractor ATK with an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement for .40 caliber hollow point ammunition. According to an official ATK press release, U.S. agents will receive a maximum of 450 million rounds over a five-year period."

"America's power grid today resembles the country's canal system of the 19th Century. A marvel of engineering for its time, the canal system eventually could not keep pace with the growing demands of transcontinental transportation.

More than 150 years later, America's infrastructure is again changing in ways that its designers never anticipated. Distributed and intermittent electricity...

"In post-Occupy America, it's often hard to know whether new citizen protest laws signal the end of free speech or a mere tweak of the machine. That looks to be the case with the new anti-protest bill that passed the House of Representatives overwhelmingly two weeks ago and was signed into law by the president soon thereafter. On its face, the new legislation doesn't change a whole lot. Yet...

"Most of the 77 million post-World War II baby boomers (representing one-fourth of the U.S. population) are still working, but some are beginning to retire. As boomers retire, federal spending for Social Security and especially Medicare, given rapidly rising health care costs, will grow dramatically."

This chart by Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow, Veronique de Rugy, compiles data from the United States Treasury to illustrate our nation’s total commitments – even if no new participants ever enroll in Medicare or Social Security.

This graph clearly shows that even if the US debt to GDP ratio is lower than it was at some previous point in history—the MAGNITUDE of the change is worth ... serious attention. Since the 1980s, the effects of a shift toward a dominant Keynesian view of economic policy are clear.

The chart compares average wages of workers in the U.S. private sector and workers in the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. In recent years, the average wage in the Fed’s regional banks has soared, reaching $84,054 in 2009, or 67 percent greater than the private sector average wage of $50,462.

The most popular company in which members of Congress were invested in 2010 was General Electric, a company that spent more than $39 million on federal lobbying that year and ranked as the No. 3 top spender on lobbying.

In a survey on economic and national security concerns, researchers questioned Moms and individuals in the Gen-Y age range about their views on "homegrown jihadist terrorists. A jihadist is a Muslim involved in a holy war of destruction targeted against those who do not share their religious beliefs."

A U.S. Chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood was formed and has been in operation since the 1960s. Although the Brotherhood insists it is a peaceful organization that opposes the use of terrorism in order to further their objectives, a number of terrorist analysts argue that this organization is a breeding ground for jihadi and terrorist ideologies.

Survey participants were asked the following question:
"Thinking now about the Muslim Brotherhood in respect to the United States. Do you agree or disagree that the Muslim Brotherhood should be permitted to operate or set up a branch for their organization within the United States?"

After reading this description of the Muslim Brotherhood, do you think the United States should agree to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood when negotiating with other countries where they have a strong political presence?"

"[T]he value of the dollar remained extremely stable for 150 years, then The Fed was created in order to 'stabilize the value of the dollar' and the result has been a 95% devaluation of the dollar in less than 100 years following its creation."

Here is the annual percent change of inflation (CPI) in the Untied States from 1774 to 2007, which I graphed in my previous post, but this time I added historical events to the graph: Wars, Banking Panics, Pegging Paper Money to the Gold and Silver Standard, Establishment of the Federal Reserve and the US Mint.

"We must realise that the Sharia is not just a legal system but also a way of life by which Muslim fundamentalists seek to regulate and control their entire religious, social, political, economic, and cultural actions, interactions and reactions even with non-Muslims."

A genealogy of the radical ideas that underline al-Qaeda’s justification for violence shows that the development of jihadi thought over the past several decades is characterized by the erosion of critical constraints used to limit warfare and violence in classical Islam.

Shariah in Islam has functioned historically through schools of Islamic law, or madhahib. Traditional Shariah is based on a recognised canon, some significant elements of which have been translated and published in English.

"Landlords and tenants are not usually on the same side in the courtroom. But in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a group of tenants are standing up for their property rights and supporting their landlord against the City's inspection policy. It's a case with far-reaching implications that should concern every American."

Environmental terrorism adds a new dimension to terrorism scares, identifying the target as a natural resource or environmental feature. At a time when populations all over the world are increasing, the existing resource base is being stretched to provide for more people, and is being consumed at a faster rate.

"Ecclesiastical law has long been accepted as a form of civil arbitration in Western Democracies. The result of ecclesiastical trials is legally binding and enforceable. Nevertheless, the dangers associated with legal ecclesiastical rulings became manifest when Islamic groups pushed for the recognition of Sharia as a doctrine of arbitration."

"As the smoke clears in New York and Kabul, one blind spot still blocks the Western lens in the war against terror. There remains no official definition of 'terrorism.' The need for such a definition was affirmed by representatives of over 150 countries at a UN conference held in October 2001 on 'What is Terrorism?'"

"The Western legal system bases it[s] value system upon Judo-Christian values which emphasi[ze] the individual while Islam strongly advocates community. The very topic of this paper must attempt to deal with two completely different systems. Most from the West are familiar with their system, thus this paper will first attempt to help the reader understand Shariah."

"This article presents a composite price index covering the period since 1750 which can be used for analyses of consumer price inflation, or the purchasing power of the pound, over long periods of time."

"Recent weather events such as deadly heat waves and devastating floods have sparked popular interest in understanding the role of global warming in driving extreme weather. These events are part of a new pattern of more extreme weather across the globe, shaped in part by human-induced climate change.

"Assorted 'cyber attacks' have attracted much attention in the past few months. One headline in this genre recently proclaimed 'Anonymous Declares War on Orlando.' This is wrong on so many levels that it almost defies analysis."

"On April 8, a front page article was published in the Wall Street Journal on the dangers posed by cyberspies to the U.S. electrical grid. According to senior intelligence officers who spoke with the Journal, 'Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system.'"

"Using encrypted Internet telephony as an example, this Article proposes a change to the NSA's internal guidelines that would prevent dissemination of information gained through the frustration of the reasonable privacy expectations of protected persons unless exigent circumstances or serious threats to national security were presented."﻿

"Some things a person does owe to himself–intangibles like respect, integrity, responsibility. 'This above all, to thine own self be true.' But such duties to self are not a debt in the usual sense of a repayable loan or obligation."

"Homegrown terrorists are making headlines — most recently in Bandera County, where the sheriff’s office issued a warning to citizens last month after the shooting death of an officer and in Hempstead, where a man awaits trial after attempting to aid al-Qaeda."

"The seemingly intractable conflict between energy needs and environmental concerns, as exemplified by the recent series of pipeline bombings in northeastern British Columbia, has served to highlight the need for strategic thinking about this emerging threat."

"Although piracy of software on personal computers (PC) declined in many countries in 2007, fast growing PC markets in some of the world’s highest piracy nations caused overall numbers to worsen—a trend that is expected to continue. Moreover, dollar losses from piracy rose by $8 billion to nearly $48 billion."

"This paper explores the possibility of the U.S. experiencing a debt crisis in the medium run, meaning somewhere between 2015 and 2035. It is impossible to state precisely the trigger point for a crisis. At best, we can make guesses about some of the key parameters."

This piece offers a fascinating look into the correlations between welfare and destructive childhood behaviors. According to the authors, studies have shown that children on welfare will earn less as adults, obtain lower levels of education, struggle with anger and hyperactivity, and in general, follow in the footsteps of their welfare-dependent parents.

After beginning her paper with various statistics on American literacy rates, Jeanne Allen discusses several ways in which literacy problems are dealt with. Allen advises the public to avoid increasing school spending and federal involvement, while also encouraging a "back-to-basics" approach in the public schools.

Sweet describes numerous problems various types of illiteracy pose for the nation, suggesting that the lack of phonics in schools is at the root of the problem. He traces the history of various reading methods and their effectiveness and concludes by determining that a return to phonics instruction is the best defense against illiteracy in America.

"In the last two years, a remarkable amount of disturbing news has been published concerning global warming, largely concentrating on melting of polar ice, tropical storms and hurricanes, and mass extinctions."

This piece provides an interesting look into a decade in which the welfare state was growing, but was definitely not as massive as it is today. Mary Jo Bane examines whether or not the increasing influence of welfare was detrimental to society and the family.

"Christianity and Islam share much common ground. Both trace their roots to Abraham. Both believe in prophecy, God's messengers (apostles), revelation, scripture, the resurrection of dead, and the centrality of religious community."

John L. Esposito and John. O. Voll discuss the various opinions and viewpoints about Islam and democracy from a Muslim perspective. They point out different facets to be considered and ultimately conclude that there can be such a thing as Islamic democracy.

"Whether Islamic values are compatible with the institutions of free societies is relevant most importantly for the future of Muslim countries. Yet it is also of immense practical relevance for the West, which has received substantial numbers of immigrants from Muslim countries. How should the West deal with them?"

"Sharia, or Islamic law, influences the legal code in most Muslim countries. A movement to allow sharia to govern personal status law, a set of regulations that pertain to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and custody, is even expanding into the West."

"The general public and many academics have several preconceived notions about Islamic Law. One such notion is that Islamic judges are bound by ancient and outdated rules of fixed punishments for all crimes. This paper explores that idea and looks at other myths in an attempt to present Islamic Law from a non-biased view of Sharia Law."

"In Mayfield v. United States, U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken (District of Oregon) held that parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978, which were altered by the USA Patriot Act in 2001, are unconstitutional."

"If property is liberty’s other half, privacy is its guardian. The right to privacy is essential to the preservation of freedom for the simplest of reasons. If no one knows what I do, when I do it, and with whom I do it, no one can possibly interfere with it."

"The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world."

"The Obama administration takes a more realistic approach in including nuclear energy along with other non-carbon emitting sources in its 'Clean Energy Standard.' To understand why this is the case, we first need to review a few of the often overlooked, but important subtleties of electrical power generation."

Researchers have found extreme and destructive rainfall events were more common in many parts of the world during the Little Ice Age than they have been subsequently, contradicting the forecasts of the IPCC.

"That sad experience should be raising red flags in the United States, where the unsustainable longer-run trajectory of the US public finances is now suggesting the real risk of either a destructive burst of inflation or an outright government debt default."

"The recent Supreme Court decision in Marshall V. Barlow offers businesses a Fourth Amendment shield against warrantless inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Although hailed by some business spokesmen as a great victory, the decision is unlikely to have much effect on OSHA enforcement."

One provision in the PATRIOT Act decreases the oversight the FBI needs for issuing National Security Letters. These letters require ISPs to provide information on their clients to the government. Patrick Garlinger explains why current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence fails to protect information hosted by a third party.

"So what is this ideology we label Islamic-Fascism? What are its sources, theories, aims, and who are its proponents? The answers to many of these questions can be found in a collection of violent Islamic thought called Qutbism."

"American infrastructure is in trouble, from collapsed bridges to leaking dams. In a yearlong investigation, Popular Mechanics uncovered the fresh ideas, smart engineering and new technology we need to fix it. Here's the plan."

"Our nation’s economy and our quality of life require a highway and roadway system that provides a safe, reliable, efficient, and comfortable driving environment. Although highway fatalities and traffic-related injuries declined in 2007, the drop is most likely attributable to people driving less."

"In February 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams suggested in a speech at the Royal Courts of Justice in London that British Muslims who would like to avail themselves of Islamic law-based arbitration courts ... should be permitted to do so."

The Senate has introduced the Cybersecurity Act of 2012. A floor vote is expected in March or April. The Cybersecurity Act contains laudable elements—enhancement of and protection for private-sector information sharing are crucial.

A report examining past jihadists and their actions leading up to their performing jihad. The study concluded that a high adherence to Sharia within a mosque lead to a greater predispositions to violent actions and jihad.

This piece gives a thorough overview of Islamic Sharia law. According to the article, "Sharia law comes from a combination of sources including the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book), the Hadith (sayings and conduct of the prophet Muhammad) and fatwas (the rulings of Islamic scholars)."

The following report based on an 8 March 2010 Seminar on Sharia Law ... aims to provide evidence of the discriminatory nature of these courts and make recommendations for curtailing Sharia and religious tribunals on the basis that they work against and not for equality, and are incompatible with human rights.

"The facts are the facts: some judges are making decisions deferring to Shariah law even when those decisions conflict with Constitutional protections. This is a serious issue and should be a subject of public debate and engagement by policymakers."

"This study is the result of months of analysis, discussion and drafting by a group of top security policy experts concerned with the preeminent totalitarian threat of our time: the legal-political-military doctrine known within Islam as 'shariah.'"

"As the debt grows, government’s interest burden grows with it. The more of our tax dollars consumed by interest, the fewer dollars available for discretionary spending. What’s worse, more pressure is then exerted to use tax increases to fund mandatory spending programs, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid."

"'This is really a bill which, if enacted into law, will be [a longer] step in the direction of stopping terrorism than any other we have had before this Congress in a long time,' one of the bill's sponsors declared."

This article provides a brief summary of the Patriot Act. It explains the legislative background and methods used to pass this bill. Then, it explains the new powers created by the Patriot Act. It explains how these searches are fundamentally different then prior precedent.

"With terrorism still prominent on the U.S. national agenda, whether the country’s prevention efforts match the threat it faces continues to be central in policy debate. One element of this debate is questioning whether the United States, like some other countries, needs a dedicated domestic intelligence agency."

Combining the opinions of a variety of panelists, this piece discusses the issue of healthy marriage and its relation to the welfare state, especially amongst low-income communities. This piece recognizes that the promotion of marriage is a good thing, and also brings up several statistics showing the direct correlation between the growth of welfare and the disintegration of the family.

"Since John Roberts Jr. became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, there has been a measurable decline in the number of cases addressing Fourth Amendment questions. This article examines the reasons for that decline and predicts the substantial elimination of Fourth Amendment litigation in the Roberts Court."

"In his talk Burns offered little hope for an escape from secular inflation. Current worldwide philosophical and political trends, Burns diagnosed, will continue to undermine wealth creation and strangle incentives. These modern trends produce permanent budget deficits and have introduced 'a strong inflationary bias' into the economy."

"The specter of a credit downgrade looms, and it is frightful. A downgrade threatens to push interest rates higher, making it more difficult for consumers to borrow, for businesses to hire, and for the economy to grow."

"A known and cataclysmic threat to the U.S. electric power grid is being largely ignored by the President and Congress. Warning events in 1859, 1921, 1989, and 2003 showed the danger that solar activity can pose to electrical power and distribution systems."

"Quite a few people believe that if there is a decline in oil production, we can make up much of the difference by increasing our use of electricity--more nuclear, wind, solar voltaic, geothermal or even coal. The problem with this model is that it assumes that our electric grid will be working well enough for this to happen."

"This study discusses how HUD officials operate within a highly politicized environment, which is heavily influenced by the groups that HUD subsidizes and regulates, including the housing industry, financial institutions, and community activists."

"Over the last 35 years, the U.S. government has embarked on several major projects to spur the commercial development of energy technologies intended to substitute for conventional energy resources, especially fossil fuels. Those efforts began with the 1973 energy crisis when President Nixon became the first U.S. leader to announce a plan for energy autarky. Presidents Ford and Carter...

Two million passengers weekly are pawed as if they were felons, though their only crime is catching a flight. And while even suspected murderers are not supposed to be searched without warrants, law-abiding passengers such as Carlos abandon this freedom when they enter an airport as surely as Dante's sinners abandon hope when they enter hell.

The researchers imply that many welfare reform programs do not have a positive effect on marriage and out-of-wedlock birth rates. However, as the report goes on, the researchers do admit that several state welfare reform programs have demonstrated decided success in positive family formation efforts.

"The warnings were certainly there. In 1998, former utility executive John Casazza predicted that 'blackout risks will be increased' if plans for deregulating electric power went ahead. And the warnings continued to be heard from other energy experts and planners."

"H.R. 3523, a piece of legislation dubbed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (or CISPA for short), has been created under the guise of being a necessary implement in America’s war against cyberattacks. But the vague verbiage contained within the pages of the paper could allow Congress to circumvent existing exemptions to online privacy laws and essentially monitor, censor and...

"While many were shocked by the massacre at the Sikh temple, our guest, Daryl Johnson, had warned years ago that such an attack was imminent. While working as a senior analyst in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2009, Johnson authored a report warning about the increasing dangers of violent right-wing extremism in the United States, sparking a political firestorm in the process....

"National Security Agency whistle blowers Thomas Drake, former senior official; Kirk Wiebe, former senior analyst; and William Binney, former technical director, return to 'Viewpoint' to talk about their allegations that the NSA has conducted illegal domestic surveillance. All three men are providing evidence in a lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation against the NSA.

"Jason's DeParle's new book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and The Nation's Drive to End Welfare, is an insightful look at welfare reform, poverty and the underclass. It examines the evolution of welfare reform in policy circles in Washington as well as the impact of reform on the lives of inner city families. Our discussion will focus on the...

This video describes the rising illiteracy rate in the U.S. According to CBS, many thousands of adults in New York alone can only read material written at a 5th grade level or below. This clip explains how low reading ability negatively affects adults.

"In Pennsylvania, there are nearly 6,000 bridges in disrepair – the most in the nation. According to the Federal Highway Administration, 39 percent of bridges in the state are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. In the first segment of a five part series on infrastructure in the U.S., PBS NewsHour Senior Correspondent Ray Suarez reports with Blueprint America on Pennsylvania’s...

"In a stunning move that has civil libertarians stuttering with disbelief, the U.S. Senate has just passed a bill that effectively ends the Bill of Rights in America.

The National Defense Authorization Act is being called the most traitorous act ever witnessed in the Senate, and the language of the bill is cleverly designed to make you think it doesn't apply to Americans, but toward the...

"Though many (especially on the left) blame capitalism for so much of today's problems. But I believe what they are incorrectly calling capitalism, is actually what I call 'corporatism'. Many of my fellow libertarians call it 'crony capitalism', but I think that muddy's the issue by using the word 'capitalism' in a different context.

From the General Motors bailout to subsidies for Solyndra, crony capitalism is as serious a threat to liberty, free markets and civil society as ever. Cato Institute Senior Fellow Tom G. Palmer recently discussed The Morality of Capitalism (...

"The U.S. government is about to declare a new war, but this time the enemy is a virtual one. A string of attacks on government websites by hackers has driven American policy-makers into a state of high-alert over a so-called terrorist threat. But some doubt the danger even exists, as RT's Lucy Kafanov reports."

"Unlike desperate countries like Haiti, many experts agree that so far Japan, a developed country, has fared well overall in disaster preparedness, which is measured by the country's immediate response following an earthquake and tsunami.

But many may wonder whether Americans are as prepared to handle such natural disasters."

Attorney General Eric Holder addresses the questions of due process, judicial process and the 4th Amendment. Since the Obama administration ordered the killing of American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, there has been substantial debate surrounding the constitutionality of such a power. Does every citizen deserve due process?

"The President's highest priority is to keep the American people safe. He is committed to ensuring the United States is true to our values and ideals while also protecting the American people. The President is committed to securing the homeland against 21st century threats by preventing terrorist attacks and other threats against our homeland, preparing and planning for emergencies, and...

After offering a variety of statistics on the types of illiteracy in America, this news clip goes on to introduce several adults who struggled with functional illiteracy and the effects that the inability to read had on their lives. For many people, illiteracy causes fear and discourages mobility, and for others the inability to read has long term health...

In this clip, Newt Gingrich describes some of the details of Sharia law and their incompatibility with established Western law. Gingrich also warns that Sharia law is a direct attack on the principles that many liberal Americans hold dear.

Peter Schiff, a candidate for Senator in Connecticut, explains the economic crisis. Schiff argues that the economic collapse is not over. Because of our inability to allow markets to restructure, Schiff argues, the coming downturn will be much worse than expected.

"Sharia in Canada is a 2-part documentary series that delves into the debate over Islamic tribunals in Ontario. In December 2004, the Boyd Report recommended that Ontario authorize Islamic tribunals based on the sharia, a system of justice directly inspired by the Koran. In September 2005, however, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty banned all religious arbitration, whether Muslim, Jewish or...

"In what some have described as police enforcement of Sharia law at the annual Dearborn Arab International Festival, last Friday night Dearborn Police Officers arrested four Christian missionaries... [and] confiscated their video cameras which were recording the events surrounding their arrests...Arrested on charges of Breach of the Peace are: Negeen Mayel, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, Paul Rezkalla,...

"Western legal tradition rests on the idea that there is 'one law for all.' This idea has emerged from the Judeo-Christian tradition as mediated by the Enlightenment, particularly from the tradition’s teaching about the equal dignity and liberty of all. What challenges does Islamist extremism pose domestically in the United States to the core principles of Western society? Western European and...

In this clip, Thomas Sowell debates Pennsylvania's welfare secretary Helen Bohen O'Bannion. The former adamantly argues that the welfare state is at fault for the decided decline of the black family through the years. Sowell's debate opponent implies that it is the responsibility of the government to try to lift up the lower class' standard of living....

"If America does not get welfare reform under control, it will bankrupt America. But the Heritage Foundation's Robert Rector has a five-step plan to reform welfare while protecting our most vulnerable."

"America’s electric system, 'the supreme engineering achievement of the 20th century,' is aging, inefficient, and congested, and incapable of meeting the future energy needs of the Information Economy without operational changes and substantial capital investment over the next several decades.

Unprecedented levels of risk and uncertainty about future conditions in the electric industry...

"This book is the first attempt at writing Islamic laws For Muslims who have settled in non-Muslim Countries. Muslims who were compelled to leave their countries, and the places where they grew up, and had to migrate to non-Muslim countries in which they now live under different laws and systems, dissimilar values and rules, and unfamiliar customs and habits. The modes of conduct and manners...

One of the most widely cited reports on education reform, "A Nation at Risk" describes the declining academic rates and standards that were prevalent in the early 1980s. "A Nation at Risk" bemoans the fact that...

"From May 2009 through October 2011, arrests were made for 32 'homegrown,' jihadist-inspired terrorist plots by American citizens or legal permanent residents of the United States. Two of these resulted in attacks—U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan’s alleged assault at Fort Hood in Texas and Abdulhakim Muhammed's shooting at the U.S. Army-Navy Career Center in Little Rock, AR and produced 14 deaths....

"This book contains an account of our present knowledge of the history and of the outlines of the system of Islamic law. It is intended for two groups of readers: students of history, social sciences, and comparative law on the one hand, and on the other, students of Arabic who might wish to embark upon this particularly important and attractive branch of Islamic studies. Islamic law provides...

This act authorized President Bush to use "necessary and appropriate" force against any and all responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Like so many other acts issued since 9/11 this, too, was widely criticized because of its vague nature and the possibility of such broad interpretation.

This highly controversial bill passed the House, but stalled in the Senate. It proposed much stricter legislation against illegal individuals, including some aspects which criminalized citizens for aiding or hiring illegal aliens.

"A well-functioning transportation system is critical to America’s economic future. Whether it is by road, transit, aviation, rail, pipeline, or waterway, we rely on our transportation system to move people and goods safely, facilitate commerce, attract and retain businesses, and support jobs. The President’s 2013 Budget provides a total of $74 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding...

The Declaration of Human Rights set to govern the members of the Organization of Islamic Conference. It sets down that the nations will be ruled according to Sharia Law. It specifically mentions the differences in rights between men and women.

"In 2006, the Critical Infrastructure Task Force of the Homeland Security Advisory Council initiated a public policy debate arguing that the government's critical infrastructure policies were focused too much on protecting assets from terrorist attacks and not focused enough on improving the resilience of assets against a variety of threats. According to the Task Force, such a defensive...

"Cyberwarfare raises issues of growing national interest and concern. Cyberwarfare can be used to describe various aspects of defending and attacking information and computer networks in cyberspace, as well as denying an adversary's ability to do the same. Some major problems encountered with cyber attacks, in particular, are the difficulty in determining the origin and nature of the attack...

An early twentieth contributor to educational psychology, Hall advocated that the content of education should be determined by the child's stage of development, interests and needs. John Dewey was one of his students. In this work, Hall seeks to lay out the "Pedagogy of the Future. Every one of the new departures indicated in the following chapters has, I believe,...

This executive order was issued in 1979, creating a federal agency that could be called upon locally in times of emergency. In 2003, it became part of the Department of Homeland Security. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina FEMA came under increasing scrutiny and continues to face harsh criticism from both sides.

"The Internet allows businesses of all sizes and from any location to reach new and larger markets and provides opportunities to work more efficiently by using computer-based tools. Whether a business is thinking of adopting cloud computing or just using email and maintaining a website, cybersecurity should be a part of the plan. Theft of digital information has become the most commonly...

"Over the past few years, U.S. government debt held by the public has grown rapidly—to the point that, compared with the total output of the economy, it is now higher than it has ever been except during the period around World War II. The recent increase in debt has been the result of three sets of factors: an imbalance between federal revenues and spending that...

"An Act To provide for the establishment of Federal reserve banks, to furnish an elastic currency, to afford means of rediscounting commercial paper, to establish a more effective supervision of banking in the United States, and for other purposes."

The most current version of the Act is available at the Federal Reserve's...

Senator McCain addresses the Senate concerning the issue of national security information getting leaked. As the world moves further into the Information Age, the risk of sensitive information being exposed grows. Yet, many believe that such leaks are beneficial to the average person, as it has led to significant exposure of governmental corruption. While certain individuals in the government...

"NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. Solar wind can flow in through the opening to 'load up' the magnetosphere for powerful geomagnetic storms. But the breach itself is not the biggest surprise. Researchers are even more amazed at the strange and unexpected way it forms, overturning long-...

The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will hold a hearing examining the links between global warming, extreme weather events, and how these events affect the world now and will in the future.

"Once again the federal government has reached its 'debt ceiling,' and once again Congress is poised to authorize an increase in government borrowing. Between its ever-growing bureaucracies, expanding entitlements, and overseas military entanglements, the federal government is borrowing roughly one billion dollars every day to pay its bills...

"The Bush Administration's 2003 National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets indicates that security guards are 'an important source of protection for critical facilities.' In 2003, approximately one million security guards (including airport screeners) were employed in the United States. Of these guards, analysis indicates that up to 5% protected...

The petitioner in this case was arrested and indicted based on expired warrant. Due to the clerical error, the petitioner argued that his conviction was based on illegally obtained evidence. The Supreme Court, however, declared that "[w]hen police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than...

"Nearly a quarter of the nation’s major urban roads are rated in substandard or poor condition, providing motorists with a rough ride and increasing the cost of operating a vehicle. While the share of the nation’s major urban roads in poor condition decreased from 2007 to 2008, potential deficits in state budgets, the completion of federal transportation stimulus projects and the failure of...

This massive piece of legislation most importantly consolidated dozens of federal agencies in order to improve means of fighting terrorism. It was single largest consolidation of federal power since the National Security Act of 1947. This act also established the Department and Director of Homeland Security.

"The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (herein referred to as 'the Committee') initiated this investigation in November 2011 to inquire into the counterintelligence and security threat posed by Chinese telecommunications companies doing business in the United States."

"Is the United States bankrupt? Many would scoff at this notion. Others would argue that financial implosion is just around the corner. This paper explores these views from both partial and general equilibrium perspectives. It concludes that countries can go broke, that the United States is going broke, that remaining open to foreign investment can help stave off...

"If peace, harmony and equality are to prevail we should start by learning to better communicate with each other based on mutual respect, understanding and empathy of each other. Using such terms as 'Islamic fascists', 'Muslim terrorists' and 'Islamist fundamentalist extremists' do not help in fighting the so called 'war on terrorism'.

"After having briefly elucidated the meaning of Jihad and the significance of the clause ‘in the way of God’, I wish to explain in brief terms the Revolutionary Creed which Islam upholds so that it may be easily understood why Jihād is needed and what is the objective of Jihad."

"The nation's roads and highways are the backbone of the U.S. transportation system, allowing Americans to travel approximately 3 trillion miles annually. But conditions on the system are deteriorating, as the need for transportation improvements far outpaces the amount of funding available. As the nation looks to rebound from the current economic downturn, making needed improvements to roads...

This case revolved around a warrant-less search in which police encountered illegal marijuana possession. The Kentucky Supreme Court determined that the police department had failed to follow the proper procedures in entering a house without a warrant. Since this decision was released, the case has continued on to the U.S. Supreme Court. A transcript of the oral...

"Mankind today is on the brink of a precipice, not because of the danger of complete annihilation which is hanging over its head-this being just a symptom and not the real disease -but because humanity is devoid of those vital values which are necessary not only for its healthy development but also for its real progress. Even the Western world realises that...

"Islamic law, known as the shari 'ah, is the framework of ultimate reality and the ethical guidance that Muslim scholars have derived from the direct Revelation of Allah to man. Although Allah reveals the pattern of ultimate truth indirectly through the workings of the physical universe and in the observable nature of man, the ultimate source of knowledge about both physical and metaphysical...

To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year....

This piece of legislation is cited as "AN ACT To promote the national security by providing for a Secretary of Defense; for a National Military Establishment; for a Department of the Army, a Department of the Navy, and a Department of the Air Force; and for the coordination of the activities of the National Military Establishment with other departments and agencies...

"To prepare for forecasted air traffic growth, FAA is planning for and implementing NextGen in partnership with other federal agencies and the aviation industry. NextGen is a complex undertaking that requires acquiring new integrated air traffic control systems; developing new flight procedures, standards, and regulations; and creating and maintaining supporting infrastructure to create a more...

"The NextGen modernization of the U.S. air traffic system is already providing benefits for airports large and small and will provide more as the effort progresses. NextGen will provide new capabilities that will improve safety and accessibility at airports used by piston- and turbine-powered general aviation aircraft."

President Obama seeks to mend the conflict between Islam and the West. He wishes to take certain steps to establish common ground between the two and to create a better understanding and relationship for the future. Additionally, he does not deny that tension exists especially in the areas of violent extremism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the rights and...

This act was passed on the heels of the Oklahoma City bombing, making transactions with terrorists illegal. Moreover, the act sought federal jurisdiction over matters of international terrorism, foreshadowing the Patriot Act which would come 6 years later.

This speech in the House chamber details why Representative McClintock withdrew his support from the Patriot Act. McClintock first recounts the circumstances leading up to the creation of the Fourth Amendment, and then relates an anecdote from Russia which demonstrates the importance of the Fourth Amendment.

"On September 11, 2001, state departments of transportation (DOTs) — builders and operators of the nation’s busiest roads, tunnels, and bridges — were reminded vividly about the vital role that transportation often plays when emergency situations occur. As DOTs across the country went on high alert, the emergency capabilities of highway, transit, rail, and pedestrian systems in the New York...

According to Joe Weisenthal, this speech finds "Dallas Fed Chief Richard Fisher...warning of the impact of cash that's not being lent out, and what he sees is debt monetiziation -- the Federal Reserve financing the government's spending directly....

"Our responsibility is to acknowledge this new environment and adapt our security instruments to it. That is the purpose of the DoD Cyber Strategy. We must prepare. We must recognize the interconnectedness of cyber. And we must be mindful of the many ways cyberspace is used–as a peaceful instrument of global communications, as a tool for economic growth–and, also, as an instrument to threaten...

The Sunnah for Muslims is thought to be the sayings and living habits of Muhammad, who they believe is their religion's greatest and last prophet. Hadith are narrations originating from the words and deeds of Muhammad. Thus, both Sunnah and Hadith are believed to be important for interpreting the Qur'an and in the understanding of Islamic law. This site provides links to various translations of the Hadith and the Sunnah used by Muslims.

"Last month I convened an emergency meeting of my cabinet and top homeland security, intelligence and defense officials. Across the country trains had derailed, including one carrying industrial chemicals that exploded into a toxic cloud. Water treatment plants in several states had shut down, contaminating drinking water and causing Americans to fall ill.

This second edition of Terrorism provides an overview of the terrorist incidents and preventions designated by the FBI as having taken place in the United States and its territories during the years 2002 through 2005 and that are matters of public record.

Although Frank Mylar admits to being a supporter of President George W. Bush, he respectfully questions the constitutionality of some of the provisions in the Patriot Act. Mylar is particularly concerned about the Fourth Amendment rights of American citizens and implies that the Patriot Act strikes at the heart of the safeguards established in it.

"The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 precipitated what, in retrospect, is likely to be judged the most virulent global financial crisis ever. To be sure, the contraction in economic activity that followed in its wake has fallen far short of the depression of the 1930s. But the virtual withdrawal, on so global a scale, of private short term credit,...

"The federal government’s consolidated terrorist watchlist was created in March 2004 by merging previously separate watchlists that were once maintained by different agencies throughout the federal government. The watchlist is managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), through its supervision of the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC)."

"During the Carter administration, Congress passed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which created a new federal court to approve electronic surveillance of citizens and resident aliens alleged to be acting on behalf of a foreign power. Until now, the FISA court granted surveillance authority if foreign intelligence was the primary purpose of an...

"During January - March, 1948, Sayyid Abul A'la Mawdudi (1903 - 1979) gave a series of five talks, in Urdu, on Radio Pakistan, in which he dealt with the broad and basic principles of moral, political, economic, social and spiritual teachings of Islam. They were immediately published in books and have also been translated into several different languages, the first English translation...

"Throughout our nation’s history, Americans have found the courage to do right by our children’s future. Deep down, every American knows we face a moment of truth once again. We cannot play games or put off hard choices...

"The cyber environment provides unprecedented opportunities for adversarial activities and is particularly vulnerable because of the nation's heavy reliance on information systems. A strong and well-protected U.S. information infrastructure is critical to virtually every aspect of maintaining our nation's security. Trusted insiders as well as external adversaries are targeting the U.S....

"Our national defense, economic prosperity, and quality of life have long depended on the essential services that underpin our society. These critical infrastructures—energy, banking and finance, transportation, vital human services, and telecommunications—must be viewed in a new context in the Information Age. The rapid proliferation and integration of telecommunications and computer systems...

Ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a series of cases in 1957, this act makes it illegal to advocate overthrowing the federal government. The act was mainly used to crack down on vocal communists. Though it has not been used for arrest since the Supreme Court decisions, the Smith Act is still on the books.

In Rajab 1366 (May June 1947), the Imaam Al-Shaheed Hasan Al-Banna, General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, sent this letter to Faruq 1st, King of Egypt and the Sudan, Mustafa Al-Nahaas Pasha, his then Prime Minister, and to the kings, princes, and rulers of the various countries of the Islamic world, as well as to a great number of civic and religious leaders in those countries. Once again we are publishing and distributing it. Many of the view points and directives it contains still represent the dearest hope of every Arab and every Muslim.

"Most political writers have concluded, that a republican government, over a very large territory, cannot exist; and as this opinion is sustained by alarming proofs, and weighty authorities, it is entitled to much respect, and serious consideration. All extensive territories in past times, and all in the present age, except those of the United States, have been, or...

"Rather than issuing the summons required by Virginia law, police arrested respondent Moore for the misdemeanor of driving on a suspended license. A search incident to the arrest yielded crack cocaine, and Moore was tried on drug charges. The trial court declined to suppress the evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds. Moore was convicted. Ultimately, the Virginia...

"David Kelley subjects the institutions of the contemporary welfare state to sustained and withering criticism. 'A Life of One's Own' is a devastating refutation of the flawed concept of 'welfare rights.' Kelley presents empirical evidence of the welfare state's effects on behavior, historical research on the origins of the welfare state (and on what it displaced...

"As a governor of the Federal Reserve Board from 1996 to 2002, Laurence H. Meyer helped make the economic policies that steered the United States through some of the wildest and most tumultuous times in its recent history. Now, in A Term at...

"The United States government is actively monitoring terrorist cells affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network in eleven cities, from Florida to Boston to Denver to Houston. But al Qaeda is hardly our only threat. Hamas, formed in 1987, was run by top Palestinian officials in America from its earliest days, and has tentacles in Texas, California, New Jersey, Virginia, and Illinois....

"An engaging look at what led to the financial turmoil we now find ourselves in.

Bailout Nation offers one of the clearest looks at the financial lenders, regulators, and politicians responsible for the financial crisis of 2008. Written by Barry Ritholtz, one of today's most popular economic bloggers and a well-established industry pundit, this book skillfully explores how the United...

"In this first comprehensive comparison of left-wing violence in the United States and West Germany, Jeremy Varon focuses on America's Weather Underground and Germany's Red Army Faction to consider how and why young, middle-class radicals in prosperous democratic societies turned to armed struggle in efforts to overthrow their states. Based on a wealth of primary material, ranging from...

One of the great horror stories associated with predictions of CO2-induced global warming is that the warming will be so fast and furious that many species of plants and animals will not be able to migrate towards cooler regions.

Nonie Darwish presents an insider's look at Sharia and examines how radical Muslim laws are destroying the Western world from within. Living under Sharia law for the first thirty years of her life, a virtual slave to Islamic law, Darwish never questioned or challenged her rights--or dared to even think about the validity of Sharia laws.

"Richard A. Clarke warned America once before about the havoc terrorism would wreak on our national security -- and he was right. Now he warns us of another threat, silent but equally dangerous. Cyber War is a powerful book about technology, government, and military strategy; about criminals, spies, soldiers, and hackers. This is the first book about the war of the future -- cyber war -- and a...

"Enormous efficiencies have been gained over the past twenty-five years as a result of the introduction of computers and telecommunications technologies. The use of these systems and networks translates into a major concentration and centralization of information resources, however, this consolidation creates a major vulnerability to a host of attacks and exploitations. Cyber Warfare and Cyber...

"Cyber Warfare explores the battlefields, participants and the tools and techniques used during today's digital conflicts. The concepts discussed in this book will give those involved in information security at all levels a better idea of how cyber conflicts are carried out now, how they will change in the future and how to detect and defend against espionage, hacktivism, insider threats and...

"During the last two decades, the infrastructure of the U.S. economy has undergone a fundamental set of changes. It has steadily increased its reliance on its service sector and high-technology economy. The U.S. has come to depend on computers, electronic data storage and transfers, and highly integrated communications networks. The result is the rapid development of a new form of critical...

"An investigation into the 2001 US anthrax attacks leads to the realization that a new and terrible arms race may soon be upon us, one that spans the globe and is driven by an array of forces working with deadly microorganisms. Penetrating what they regard as an international 'bioweapons mafia,' Bob Coen and Eric Nadler encounter scientists, capitalists, politicians, and assassins - all...

Radical environmentalism and its progeny, "eco-terrorism," is a modern phenomenon. It is a movement far removed from the elite conservationists of the late 1800s and the mainstream environmental groups that emerged later.

Terrorism and the endangered, natural environment are among the most significant, societal problems of the 21st century. Since 1990, 18 violent conflicts have been fueled by the exploitation of natural resources.

My book details more than 1,000 crimes committed to save nature, many with arrest and conviction records of the environmentalists who committed them. Ecoterror is virtually an everyday event, yet it is the most unreported crime in America.

"Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism analyzes the emergency response to the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Terrorism is a complex threat, and the American government is expected to deter or intervene in every attack. For that reason, the government must be better prepared to respond to acts of terror. One critical element is to...

"Very high rates of family fragmentation in the United States are subtracting from what very large numbers of students are learning in school and forever holding them back in many other ways. This in turn is damaging the country economically by making us less primed for innovation while also making millions of Americans less competitive in an increasingly demanding worldwide marketplace. All...

"A survey of adult illiteracy that covers the United States and includes the developing countries of the Third World, with emphasis on illiteracy among women. Includes a history of the development of literacy in the United States, the changing definitions of literacy, the role of formal education, and a description of the programs that successfully enable adults to...

"Inside Cyber Warfare provides fascinating and disturbing details on how nations, groups, and individuals throughout the world use the Internet as an attack platform to gain military, political, and economic advantages over their adversaries. You'll discover how sophisticated hackers working on behalf of states or organized crime patiently play a high-stakes game that could target anyone,...

"A timely and fascinating exploration of the future of world terrorism analyzes the violent potential of different groups, discussing important concerns about the new methods and justifications of terrorist groups, while providing a cogent history of terrorism and its roots."

"Hailed in The New York Times Book Review as 'the doyen of Middle Eastern studies,' Bernard Lewis has been for half a century one of the West's foremost scholars of Islamic history and culture, the author of over two dozen books, most notably The Arabs in History, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, The Political Language of Islam, and The Muslim Discovery of Europe. Eminent French historian...

"From furious reactions to the cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to the suppression of women, news from the Muslim world begs the question: is Islam incompatible with freedom? With an eye sympathetic to Western liberalism and Islamic theology, Mustafa Akyol traces the ideological and historical roots of political Islam. The years following Muhammad's passing in 632 AD saw an intellectual 'war of...

"A behind-the-scenes exposure why our electricity system is headed for a state of emergency-and what can be done to head it off.

Most people don't realize that skyrocketing global energy demand and economic growth severely affect the supply of electricity. Between production (power plants) and delivery is an antiquated, 'third-world' transmission grid that is in desperate need of...

"Losing Ground argues that the ambitious social programs of the 1960s and 1970s actually made matters worse for its supposed beneficiaries, the poor and minorities. Charles Murray startled readers by recommending that we abolish welfare reform, but his position launched a debate culminating in President Clinton's proposal 'to end welfare as we know it...

"Long before September 11, 2001, Daniel Pipes publicly warned Americans that militant Islam had declared war on America--yet sadly, Americans failed to take heed. The publication of Militant Islam Reaches America finally brought Pipes the attention he deserves. Dividing his work into two parts, Pipes first defines militant Islam, stressing the large and crucial difference between Islam, the...

"This is a radically new interpretation of the life and motives of the infamous Unabomber. Alston Chase's gripping account follows Ted Kaczynski from an unhappy adolescence in Illinois to Harvard, where he was subject not only to the despairing intellectual currents of the Cold War but also to ethically questionable psychological experiments. Kaczynski fled academia to the edge of the...

"Why do CEOs take home hundreds of millions and stockholders get peanuts? When did 'business ethics' become an oxymoron? It didn't used to be this way. Our founders kept tight control over corporations. Then one highly dubious court decision, followed by another outright fraud gave corporations the same legal standing as human citizens. Free enterprise, capitalism and democracy are in a fight...

"The threats of economic espionage and intellectual property (IP) theft are global, stealthy, insidious, and increasingly common. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, IP theft is estimated to top $250 billion annually and also costs the United States approximately 750,000 jobs. The International Chamber of Commerce puts the global fiscal loss at more than $600 billion a year. Secrets...

"Most terrorism experts agree that it is not if America is attacked again, but when. Bestselling author Spencer exposes how a silent but lethal movement is advancing on the U.S. and calls upon Americans to resist it--before it's too late."

"'Terror in the Name of God' examines terrorist violence and, particularly, how religion is used as its motivation and justification. Based on her vast scholarship and extensive personal interviews, she provides unprecedented insight into the organisations that are essential to terrorist action, and into the most effective ways to counter them. Jessica Stern lucidly explains the components of...

"Since the events of September 11, 2001, research has had a tendency to focus specifically on international terrorism, overlooking the depth of terrorism on both sides. Terrorism in America will look at issues of both domestic and international terrorism in the United States. Using existing FBI data and ethnographic data, this book compares and contrasts domestic sources of terrorism in the...

"Using extensive records from federal district courts, national archives, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Administration Office of U.S. Courts, Brent Smith examines the activities of persons investigated for acts of terrorism during the 1980s. He traces the lives of the men and women who turned to terrorism in America, the goals that motivated their behavior, and the crimes they...

"This is the story the daily press didn't give us, the definitive book about what happened at Mt. Carmel, near Waco, Texas, examined from both sides - the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the FBI on one hand, and David Koresh and his followers on the other. Dick J. Reavis points out that the government had little reason to investigate Koresh and even less to raid the compound...

By means of a lucid narrative of the crisis and a series of analytical chapters pinpointing critical issues of economic collapse and gradual recovery, Posner helps non-technical readers understand business-cycle and financial economics....

"This book examines the history of the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable search and seizure, and its interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court. It concentrates on the changes in interpretation that have taken place since the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1961, decided in Mapp v. Ohio to apply the exclusionary rule--which...

"September 11, 2001, focused America's attention on the terrorist threat from abroad, but as the World Trade Center towers collapsed, domestic right-wing hate groups were celebrating in the United States. 'Hallelu-Yahweh! May the WAR be started! DEATH to His enemies, may the World Trade Center BURN TO THE GROUND!' announced August Kreis of the paramilitary group, the Posse Comitatus. 'We can...

"Can a man be content with a piece of bread and some change tossed his way from a passerby? Today's modern welfare state expects he can. Those who control the money in our society think that giving a dollar at the train station and then appropriating a billion dollars for federal housing can cure the ails of the homeless and the poor. But the crisis of the modern welfare state is more than a...

"Cavanaugh worked in the U.S. Department of the Treasury for more than 30 years and was the first U.S. 'pensions czar,' overseeing the federal employee pension trust fund as the inaugural head of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Given the current election-year political posturing with regard to this country's budget deficit, Cavanaugh provides a...

"Throughout history, rich and poor countries alike have been lending, borrowing, crashing--and recovering--their way through an extraordinary range of financial crises. Each time, the experts have chimed, 'this time is different'--claiming that the old rules of valuation no longer apply and that the new situation bears little similarity to past disasters. This book...

"In 1968, Mark Rudd led the legendary occupation of five buildings at Columbia University, a dramatic act of protest against the university's support for the Vietnam War and its institutional racism. The charismatic chairman of the Columbia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society—the largest radical student organization in the United States—Rudd went on to become a national symbol of...

"After one hundred years in which increasing urbanization dominated U.S. settlement patterns, many large cities and even whole metropolitan areas have begun to lose population. If this dramatic turnaround continues, it will greatly affect the future quality of life in the United States. The growth of extensive urban settlements around big cities during the past century immensely influences...

"In a Western world suddenly acutely interested in Islam, one question has been repeatedly heard above the din: where are the Muslim reformers? With this ambitious volume, Tariq Ramadan firmly establishes himself as one of Europe's leading thinkers and one of Islam's most innovative and important voices. As the number of Muslims living in the West grows, the...

"Islam has worldwide influence, and even in the United States is experiencing a period of unprecedented growth. Its sacred book, the Koran, is the subject of voluminous commentary, yet it rarely receives the kind of objective critical scrutiny that has been applied to the texts of the Bible for over a century.

To correct this neglect of objective scholarship, Ibn Warraq has assembled...

Could cyber-attacks be used to cause physical damage? What other vulnerabilities might be exploited in a cyber-attack? Could an attack disrupt infrastructure such as power grids? All these questions and more are answered in the FAQ below.

How likely is a domestic terror attack? Who might commit such an attack? What kind of damage could a domestic terror attack cause? What is the U.S. government doing to stop it? These questions and others are answered in this FAQ.

One of the most serious threats to national security, individual privacy, and protection of one's assets comes from Intellectual Property (I.P.) espionage. What kind of information may be stolen? Who is or has the capability of engaging in effective I.P. espionage? Has this already happened? What can the United States do? All these questions and more are answered in this FAQ.

"We believe that special deals from government for politically connected individuals, businesses, and powerful political interests destroy the marketplace. These favors, though often sold to the public as 'regulations' or 'works programs', are usually vehicles for some to take from the many.

When powerful interests are permitted to use the coercive power of the state for private ends,...

Although viewed by some as an inhibitor to the free exercise of religion, the ACLU declares that "[t]he right to practice religion, or no religion at all, is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The ACLU works to ensure that this essential freedom is protected by keeping the government out of religion."

Aryan Nations basic tenet is that "until the White race realizes that there is only one source from which we can ascertain lasting truths, there will never be peace or stability on this earth. In the immutable Laws of Nature are the keys to life, order, and understanding." This philosophy pervades all ideas behind their 88 precepts.

"Breitbart.com offers real-time access to top news and analysis sources. You can monitor up-to-the-minute feeds from wires, newspapers, networks, key blogs and more. And there are multiple options for exploring topics by channel. While some news sites select stories for the user and others allow users to rank favorite news stories, Breitbart emphasizes user access to the raw news feeds -- kind...

"The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization — a think tank — dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues."

"Founded in Washington, DC in 2004, the Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) is a think tank that challenges the dominance of American Muslim life by militant Islamist groups. Specifically, our mission is to:

- Foster, develop, defend, protect, and further mobilize moderate American Muslims in their progress toward integration as an equal and respected religious community in the...

"This product is one in a series of reference aids designed to provide operational and intelligence advice and assistance to other elements of DHS [Department of Homeland Security], as well as state, local, and regional fusions centers. DHS/I&A [Intelligence and Analysis] intends this background information to assist federal, state, local, and tribal homeland security and law enforcement...

This is the main website devoted to the eco-terrorists who claim responsibility for the majority environmental terror acts. Notice that in recent years the site has renounced the use of violent tactics.

"Our mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world. Learn more about how our mission is accomplished, the history of the FAA, and opportunities for the public to do business with the FAA."

"FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards."

"GovTrack.US takes you inside the legislative process on Capitol Hill. We have a team of paid reporters going where no one has taken you before inside Congress, and we combine those reports with nonpartisan reporting from other sources." This is a great resource for following proposed legislation relating to the...

"Ikhwanweb is the Muslim Brotherhood"s only official English web site. The Main office is located in London, although Ikhwanweb has correspondents in most countries. Our staff is exclusively made of volunteers and stretched over the five continents. ...

Our main misson is to present the Muslim Brotherhood vision right from the source and rebut misonceptions about the movement in western...

"As the world's first not-for-profit comprehensive global public-private partnership against cyber threats, the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) is the cybersecurity executing arm of the United Nations' specialised agency - the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). As the world's first comprehensive alliance against cyber threats, IMPACT brings...

This radical group states: "The Jewish Defense League is the most controversial, yet the most effective, of all Jewish organizations. Never Again, the JDL motto, opposes the mainstream opinion that Jews shouldn't fight back when they are attacked."

"The Ludwig von Mises Institute was founded in 1982 as the research and educational center of classical liberalism, libertarian political theory, and the Austrian School of economics. It serves as the world's leading provider of educational materials, conferences, media, and literature in support of the tradition of thought represented by Ludwig von Mises and the school of thought he enlivened...

"The Government Cost Calculator is a unique service from The Independent Institute that enables any American to clearly understand three aspects of federal government spending. First, the Calculator helps you determine how much you will pay for various federal...

"President Obama created the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to address our nation's fiscal challenges. The Commission is charged with identifying policies to improve the fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run. Specifically, the Commission shall propose recommendations designed to balance the budget,...

"When the United States needs eyes and ears in critical places where no human can reach – be it over the most rugged terrain or through the most hostile territory – it turns to the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)."

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 requires the creation of 'a website on the Internet to be named Recovery.gov, to foster greater accountability and transparency in the use of funds made available in this Act.' Recovery.gov went live on February 17, 2009, the day President Obama signed the...

"For nearly a decade since 9/11, America’s national security establishment’s understanding of the threat of Islamic terrorism and its approach to contending with that danger flow directly from a conviction that they have nothing to do with Islam, except to the extent al Qaeda 'perverts' or 'hijacks' that religion. But what if this characterization of the problem we continue to face is simply...

Working with the Department of Homeland Security, "The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism - better known as START - is a university-based research center committed to the scientific study of the causes and human consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world."

"The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central...

But it's not about picking a pocket or holding up a bank. It's robbing people of their ideas, inventions, and creative expressions—what's called intellectual property—everything from trade secrets and proprietary products and parts to movies and music and software.

It's a growing threat—especially with the rise of digital technologies and...

This is another American group that could be considered fascist in nature. What they propose doing to America is most easily understood under the section "What is the National Alliance?" There you can see their mission goals and how they would like to change the current system in America to one that is fascist in nature.

Serve the United States by ensuring a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future."

"The controversial organization credited with exposing hundreds of documents, compromising the integrity of national governments around the world, Wikileaks is fighting to stay alive amid a slew of legal battles."

At Intellectual Takeout, we think it's about time freedom went viral.
Before our generation is the opportunity to embrace freedom, to unleash each individual's potential, and to have a prosperous future. And yet it seems that almost everyone running our cities, states, and federal government is intent on destroying freedom and burying us in debt to pay for it.
If you, like us, believe that...

In the genre of documentaries revealing the problems with public education, "Kids Aren't Cars" focuses on helping us understand how schools are modeled after a factory system and what we need to do to change them. Understandably, treating kids as if they are a product to be manufactured has had detrimental effects on children going through the system and the overall level of education in America...

"Many parents and taxpayers feel helpless because the problems can seem so monumental. 'Kids Aren't Cars' director Kyle Olson reviews what he learned in the filmmaking process and the small things individuals can do that will add up to make a big difference."
Here's Kyle being interviewed on a few things you can do and share with friends, family, and educators:
Part 1Part 2

We all know Facebook is awesome for keeping up with friends, sharing about your life, and even distributing ideas. One great new way to get people thinking is to take advantage of the new banner profile with the help of Intellectual Takeout. Here's what one of our banners looks like loaded up on a Facebook profile:
If you haven't changed your banner profile, than Facebook is likely ...

While many documentaries on the education system focus on various examples of failure, "Flunked" takes a bit different tack. While certainly acknowledging and exposing the failures of the system, "Flunked" also seeks out individuals and approaches that ARE working in education. The hope is that these points of hope may serve as examples for others working in education.
Here's the trailer:...

Okay, so your friends and family keep telling you to jump
on the social media bandwagon, but you have no idea what the fuzz is about.
Here’s the deal: The Internet gives liberty-loving folk like
us an opportunity we have never had before: to make the case for individual
liberty, limited government and free market economics instantly and globally.
But with the vast amounts of information...

Looking for an internship? If so, Intellectual Takeout has an opportunity for you.
We have plenty of work to do as well as ideas to spread, and we need your help to get it done.
If you're interested in an internship with Intellectual Takeout, you likely share our passion and you're excited about the possibility of working for a great cause. That said, you might have a few questions about what "...

The Association of American Educators (AAE) advances the teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection, as well as promoting excellence in education so that our members receive the respect, recognition and reward they deserve.

Are you concerned your child isn't getting the education necessary to compete in the global economy or even, perhaps, to carry on the lessons and learning of Western Civilization? If so, you have a number of choices. You could, of course, consider changing schools to a charter school, private school, or even homeschooling. If that's overwhelming for you right now, you can always supplement your...

Curiously, not a few individuals are realizing that their education (K-12 and even college) neglected to provide them with as much understanding of the world as they would like. At Intellectual Takeout, we believe that however you feel about your education, there is still much to be learned. To that end, we'd like to refer you to one book and a collection of "study guides" that serve as...

Sure, the idea of homeschooling is likely overwhelming. Indeed, homeschooling is a big commitment and a lot of work. That said, there's a reason why more and more parents are turning to homeschooling as the best option for their child(ren)'s education(s).
Perhaps you are starting to realize that the public school system has changed a lot since you last attended it. Maybe you can't afford private...

Let's face it, most of us love to watch TV and movies. A wonderful way to spread ideas is to embrace our love of the cinema by hosting a movie night with friends and family.
There are numerous documentaries that do a fantastic job of sharing the ideas of liberty. You can pull a small group of friends together at your house or even consider asking a local restaurant or tavern to let you...

Another movie that tells the story of the failing public school model in the United States is “The Lottery”. It takes its own unique look at the systems by focusing on the use of lotteries to choose which children will be plucked from failing public schools and put into more successful public charter schools.
Here’s the trailer:
You can watch the whole movie right now with the help of Hulu...

While there are a variety of really good documentaries about the failing public school systems in America, "The Cartel" stands alone in its frontal assault on the teacher unions, particularly those in New Jersey. If you'd like to get an inside look into how some teacher unions operate and the effects they have on education, you'll want to watch "The Cartel."From the movie's website: "This movie...

How often do you hear conservatives being called a bunch of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals?
Here's the reality: Conservatism, classical liberalism, and libertarianism have a rich, intellectual heritage reaching back many millennia. Our ideas are not just some historical relics from bygone eras; they are the very foundation of Western Civilization in general, amd the United States in particular....

Sadly (or happily for some), life goes on after college. So does the fight for freedom.
Building friendships, networking, and growing the movement is critical after college. If our ideas are to be preserved and promoted, you need to stay involved. Plus, in a time when the individual seems to be ever more isolated and adrift, these groups can help plug you into social networks you can use....

Okay, so we don't expect you to drive a wooden stake into your flat screen. Plus, we're total hypocrites since we watch some TV. But here's the point: People waste a ton of time watching TV. If you're cool with government taking over your future, than keep watching Dancing with the Stars. If you consider yourself to be a free man or woman and want to live in a free society, then watch what you...

A great way to make a difference on your campus by spreading the ideas of individual rights, limited government, and free markets is to tutor. Plus, you can occasionally make a little bit of money.
Depending on the subject matter, you will be discussing a variety of ideas, key thinkers, and theories. As anyone who has tutored knows, there are almost always opportunities to expand upon a topic....

We've built Intellectual Takeout to provide you with quick, easy access to information. In time, we hope to become your one-stop-shop for the ideas of freedom.
If your professor allows you to bring your laptop to class (if not, you can use an iPhone), we recommend keeping a tab open to Intellectual Takeout.
As we continue to generate new content on the site, you will be able to fact check the...

When it comes to campus life injustices, student fees rank high on any list. On most campuses across the country a mandatory student fee is assessed to each student at the beginning of the year. A portion of this fee, which may be several hundred dollars, will go toward funding various political, religious, and interest groups.
A college requiring you to support groups espousing ideas which...

If
you're not happy with the direction of the country and you want to take
back your future, at some point you will have to do something. It's not
enough to just know that we're going in the wrong direction. You
actually have to step out and get involved.
Most college campuses have conservative and libertarian student
groups. Find one of them to join.
Below is a list of some of the larger non-...

Now that you're at college and the initial excitement has worn off, maybe you're thinking that the course selection is a bit biased and you'd like some options.
So how do you (the consumer) get the college (the business) to change up its offerings? It certainly won't be easy. Nevertheless it's something that should be done--particularly since you're footing the bill.
A good, education in a free...

Whatever activism you choose to do on campus, you need to get your story out. A popular tactic used by the Left is to isolate and intimidate freedom-loving students. You're not alone and there are a lot of people in your city, state, and country that can probably support your efforts. They just need to know what is happening.
Whenever you can, record in-class bias, discrimination against...

The reality is that most students (and people for that matter) won't speak out. It's called human nature and it was recognized in the Declaration of Independence: "...all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the
forms to which they are accustomed."
While you might feel alone when debating a teacher,...

In the land of the free and the home of the brave, speech codes are a particularly odious example of politically correct repression on many a college campus. In some ways, college campuses are the least free places for thinking and speech in America.
Your best friend for fighting your school's repressive speech codes is the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). Here's a short clip...

Running for office isn't easy, even in college. Not everyone is cut
out for it, either. For those of you who are, this completely non-partisan section is for you.
If you are inclined to pursue student government,
we're not going to spend time on telling you how to get elected. A good
place to go for ideas and training is CampusReform.org. Rather, we want to help you in office, as a believer in...